Barrera-Morales Next for PPV Ring

Unable to fully bask in the financial success of its June 8 Lennox Lewis-MikeTyson co-promotion, Home Box Office Pay-Per-View was scrambling to prepare forits June 22 Marco Antonio Barrera-Erik Morales show.

HBO PPV executives are hoping that the fight -- a rematch of a controversialbout won by Morales, which was postponed from its original March 3 date -- willget a major boost from the momentum built by the record-breaking Lewis-Tysonfight.

HBO PPV executive vice president Mark Taffet said thefeatherweight-championship fight has a higher Latino appeal than Lewis-Tyson,which could aid its performance in several major Hispanic-skewing markets.

'With its Mexican-Hispanic appeal, the fight may be as big in markets fromTexas, Arizona and Florida than Lewis-Tyson was in most of America,' saidTaffet, who stopped short of projecting a buy estimate.

Still, the fight -- retailing at a suggested price of $39.95 -- should alsoappeal to rabid boxing fans who just paid a record $55 for Lewis-Tyson. As aresult, HBO PPV has asked operators to relax credit limits that could hampersome subscribers from purchasing both events in the same billing cycle.

'It's important that the industry make the proper credit adjustments so asnot to turn down subscribers who may want to enjoy both Lewis-Tyson andBarrera-Morales,' he added.